PROVO – Kyle Davis recorded a double-double and Chase Fischer had 24 points in an 80-68 BYU win over in-state rival Utah State Wednesday night at the Marriott Center.
“I thought it was a hard-fought, well-played game,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “Both teams executed well without a lot of turnovers. I thought we were really focused and dialed in defensively. We made it really tough on Utah State, especially driving to the basket.”
Fischer led all scorers with his 24 points on 7 of 16 shooting, including 4 of 9 from deep. Nick Emery also added 17 points, hitting 3 of 7 from behind the arc. Davis recorded his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Corbin Kaufusi also contributed 10 points of his own, adding an additional five boards. Kyle Collinsworth led the Cougars with 11 assists while recording eight points and seven rebounds of his own.
BYU and Utah State traded baskets to start the game, with the Cougars going on a quick 6-0 run before an Aggie bucket tied things up at 10-10 with five minutes gone in the first half.
After a couple of scores from Utah State, Fischer hit two 3-pointers to put BYU up 18-14 with 12 minutes left in the half.
After a scoring drought for both teams, BYU went on a 10-3 run that included two Emery 3-pointers and one basket each from Davis and Collinsworth to give the Cougars a 28-19 lead at the seven-minute mark. After a made Aggie free throw, Fischer knocked down a deep 3, extending the BYU lead to 31-20 with six minutes to go in the half.
Davis hit a layup at the four-minute mark to start an 8-0 Cougar run to end the half, bringing the BYU lead to 39-24.
Fischer finished the half with nine points on 3 of 5 from deep. Collinsworth shot 3 for 5 from the field to contribute eight points for the Cougars, while Davis shot a .500 clip from the floor in the half for 10 points.
Kaufusi hit two quick baskets to put the Cougars up 43-24 with two minutes gone in the second half. After a made Aggie basket, BYU took a 48-28 lead as Fischer hit a pull-up 3 on the break with 16 minutes left to play.
Both teams traded a few scores before BYU went up 52-34 on an Emery layup at the 14 minute mark. After the basket, a quick 6-0 run from the Aggies brought the score to 52-40 for the Cougars with 12 minutes to go in the half.
A 15-6 Cougar run, led by seven points from Emery and capped by a Kaufusi dunk, put the Cougars up 67-46 with eight minutes left.
BYU extended its lead to 74-53 with five minutes left in the half after a 3-point basket from Zac Seljaas and four points from Fischer. Utah State went on 10-0 run in the last three minutes to decrease the BYU lead to 12 points but the Cougars were well in control and defeated the Aggies 80-68.
BYU will travel to take on Colorado on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 6 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Cougar fans can also listen to the game on the Cougar IMG Sports Network.
Stats: usu-byu-box_1
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